Message from Rev. Fr. Dr. Bolmax Pereira

As we celebrate the 8th Centenary Year of St. Francis of Assisi, we are invited not only to remember a saint of the past but to embrace a prophet for our present moment. Francis, who sang of Brother Sun, Sister Moon and the waters that are humble and chaste, speaks with urgent relevance into a world facing profound ecological crisis. His Canticle of the Creatures is not poetry alone — it is theology, spirituality and a programme for right living on our shared earth.

The Season of Creation, celebrated each year from 1 September to 4 October — the Feast of St. Francis — provides a privileged time for the Christian community to pray, reflect and act on behalf of our common home. In 2026, the theme Living Waters calls us to contemplate the gift of water: its beauty, its fragility, its sacred role in all of life. We are called to protect it, to use it with reverence, and to ensure that those who lack access to clean water are not forgotten.

The Franciscan Vision of Creation

Francis of Assisi did not simply appreciate nature. He encountered in creation the living presence of God. For him, the sun was not merely a source of light but a brother whose radiance spoke of the Most High. The earth was not a resource to be exploited but a sister who bore and nourished all of life. Every creature, from the smallest insect to the vast mountain ranges, was a word spoken by the Creator — a reason for praise, gratitude and awe.

This vision has never been more needed than in our own time. The degradation of our rivers, the loss of biodiversity, the warming of our atmosphere — these are not merely environmental problems. They are moral and spiritual failures. They demand a conversion not only of our habits but of our hearts — a return to the reverence and simplicity that Francis embodied so completely.

Living Waters — A Call to Action

The Living Waters initiative is our parish and diocesan response to this call. It invites every family to examine their use of water: to reduce waste, to give thanks for what we have, to pray for communities around the world who walk for hours each day simply to reach a source that is drinkable. It invites us to make practical changes — in our homes, our gardens, our communities — that reflect our faith in a God who calls all things good.

I warmly invite every parishioner, every family and every young person to engage with the Season of Creation 2026 through prayer, reflection, and concrete action. Let the 8th Centenary of St. Francis be the moment when our community renews its commitment to the earth — not out of political obligation, but out of deep spiritual conviction that what we do to creation, we do to the God who made it.

May St. Francis of Assisi, patron of ecology and lover of all creation, intercede for us as we seek to become more faithful stewards of this beautiful and fragile world.